MSI PRO Z790-A MAX WiFi ProSeries Motherboard (Supports 12th/13th/14th Gen Intel Processors, LGA 1700, DDR5

As a loyal MSI customer, with my last three motherboards being MSI, I can confidently say that MSI is a name I trust for quality and reliability. This PRO Z790-A MAX WiFi ProSeries motherboard continues that tradition. From the moment I unboxed it, I was impressed by the thoughtful design and robust construction. Installation was a breeze, and adding components was equally straightforward. The layout is smart, making cable management easy and resulting in a clean, professional look once mounted in my case. The performance of this board is excellent. It effortlessly handles my 14th Gen Intel processor, and the speeds are lightning-fast. The utility software provides all the important details during operation. I've experienced zero crashing issues, a testament to the stability and performance this motherboard offers. The inclusion of multiple M.2 slots with heat sinks is a welcome addition, ensuring optimal performance for my NVMe drives. The board also boasts ample connectivity options, including plenty of USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, Wi-Fi 7, and multiple display outputs. Pros: Easy to install Easy to add components Looks nice when mounted Excellent performance Cons: None that I've found Overall, I am extremely pleased with the MSI PRO Z790-A MAX WiFi ProSeries Motherboard. It offers a fantastic combination of features, performance, and ease of use, all at a reasonable price. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a reliable and high-performing motherboard for their 12th/13th/14th Gen Intel build.

Tommy Amos · 2025-04-17 · via amazon

Got it up and running with a brand new i9-14900KF. This is a very recent motherboard, and my 14th gen CPU worked out of the box with the first ever BIOS version. It does support BIOS flashing over USB (without installing CPU/RAM) if necessary. Now here's a bunch of information in no particular order that I hope someone may find useful in the future. * I replaced the ILM (CPU latch mechanism) with the Thermal Grizzly Contact Frame and I highly recommend you do the same if you're comfortable with that. Otherwise, contact between the IHS and cooler plate will not be flat, the IHS may bend, and heat transfer will suffer. Installing it was super simple, and in case it will help anyone, here are instructions: 1) Install the backplate for your CPU cooler (helps hold the ILM backplate in place) 2) Release the CPU latch and place the CPU into the socket (do not re-engage the latch) 3) Unscrew and remove the original latching mechanism, note how loose the original screws were 4) Place the new contact frame on top of the CPU, and re-install the original screws 5) Hand tighten the screws in an X pattern, 90 degrees at a time 6) Stop when you feel the slightest resistance, the screws should not be tightened beyond that And that's it. Older versions of the Thermal Grizzly frame needed to be tightened to a specific torque, but the current version just needs to be hand tightened as described above. * Someone else in the reviews mentioned that they were missing the screws to mount the motherboard to the standoffs on their case – no, those screws definitely do not come with the motherboard, those should come with the case itself. * When installing M.2 drives, make sure to remove the plastic films from the thermal pads, they are a bit hard to see. Three of the M.2 slots have heatsink shields, and one of them unfortunately does not. * And finally, do note that MSI advises the maximum overclocking (XMP) speeds for RAM on this motherboard are as follows: • 1 DIMM per channel (1DPC) single rank (1R): Up to 7800+ MHz • 1 DIMM per channel (1DPC) dual rank (2R): Up to 6600+ MHz • 2 DIMMs per channel (2DPC) single rank (1R): Up to 6400+ MHz • 2 DIMMS per channel (2DPC) dual rank (2R): Up to 5600+ MHz The memory I installed is the Corsair Vengeance 96GB (2x48) 6600 MHz CL32 kit. It's dual rank, installed in a 1DPC configuration, and running flawlessly at 6600 MHz CL32. Overall, I'm very pleased with this motherboard, and I'm so happy that I found it for my latest build.

KZ · 2023-12-21 · via amazon

I love this motherboard. It's full of all the features I was looking for. It has support for gen 12/13/14 CPUs, >128GB DDR5 5600 MHz RAM, 6x SATA 6G ports, 4x M.2 slots, 4x PCIe slots, plenty of USB3.2 Gen 2 ports, WiFi7, a HDMI port, a Display Port, and excellent heat management. It handles both single disks via AHCI and RAID arrays via Intel RST seamlessly. Lots of capability at a reasonable price of $209. Love it! HERE'S THE PART YOU NEED TO READ. Nowhere in the documentation is it stated which video port is the default port that should be used when booting up to change BIOS settings. In fact, there really isn't a default port. I chose the HDMI port because I had an HDMI cable. As I rebooted and attempted to enter BIOS (pressing Delete), I got NOTHING but a black display in about 9 out of 10 attempts. The 1 out of 10 successes led me to believe 1) the board had some sort of intermittent quality problem, 2) some other component had a quality problem or 3) I made a "pilot error" building the PC. After ~2 long weeks of debugging, swapping memory sticks, testing the power supply, looking for scratches or other damage to the motherboard, ... , I was about ready to send the motherboard back as defective. Before doing so I borrowed a Display Port cable and rebooted. With both ports connected to displays I observed a splash screen on every reboot, ~90% on the Display Port side and ~10% on the HDMI port side. In other words, the system was performing just fine the entire 2 weeks. I just couldn't see BIOS on the Display Port (because it wasn't connected). I could see it on the HDMI port, but only 1 out of 10 reboot attempts. BOTTOM LINE: I give the motherboard itself 5 stars. I'd give it 6 if I could. On the other hand, I give MSI's documentation and BIOS 1 star. MSI should correct this by either 1) documenting the flip-flop behavior, 2) have the BIOS send video to both ports by default (and not "roll the dice" at each reboot) or 3) not send the video exclusively to a port that's not even connected.

Joe Schmoe · 2025-03-11 · via amazon

Traded out a Z790 Edge to my grandson for this board. I did lose one of my M2 slots, from 5 with the Edge to 4 with this board. But I did gain another PCIE slot so it’s not a bad trade off. It will handle 6 SATA drives in addition to the 4 M2 drives, and all can be configured for raid although why would you need to with SSD’s that are already transferring rates at 1000 + mbs. There’s no loss of a PCIE lane when you populate all the M2 slots, nor the loss of a SATA channel or M2 slot if one is populated, which is a nice feature and one of the few boards I saw that did that. It’s PCIE 4.0, which is still very decent.,I mean if you’re looking for PCIE 5.0 you’re going to need the newer Chipsets for that. The audio chip on this board is phenomenal. I’ve got THX rated speakers, and listening to music is amazing, crystal clear audio, one of the must haves that the Edge board had. The RGB pin outs 2 are adequate, as are the fan pin outs. First boot and it will ask what kind of cooling you’re using. The bios is intuitive and easy to navigate. Currently I’m running Windows 11 Pro as the Primary OS with Fedora 41 as a secondary OS. This would be my only gripe, I’d like everything else there’s limited support for Linux other than what each distribution is including. So far Fedora is the only one that supports WiFi 7. Even Windows wasn’t happy with the wireless hardware, I had to temporarily connect to a wired network to download the proper drivers, so keep that in mind when you go to install the OS. Overall a nice clean board and the foundation of a great desktop.

Your Average Shopper · 2025-03-23 · via amazon

Great motherboard, solid performance. But “WiFi” in the title is misleading — it doesn’t actually include the M.2 Wi-Fi card, just the antenna ports. You have to buy the Wi-Fi module separately. Board works great once you know that… but I wish the listing said it clearly.

CBE · 2025-11-26 · via amazon

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VALUE SCORE

FUTURE-PROOFING

Socket

AM5

Chipset

B850

Form

ATX

WiFi

WiFi 6E

Socket

LGA1851

Chipset

Z890

Form

ATX

WiFi

WiFi 7